Jake

This is the boy that started it all for me. There is something very special about one's first dog that is indescribable.I miss my boy, Jake. He is never far from my thoughts and forever has a place in my heart. He was my sweet, gentle soul.This is Jake's story... In the fall of 2001 I was on the search for a performance dog. I was actually looking for a border collie. I was not in a position at the time in my life to take on the monstrous responsibilities of a puppy and there were no available adolescent or young adult dogs from a breeder that didn't live halfway across the continent. So, the next logical search was rescue. I was looking for something very particular in temperament and background and I knew I would find it if I waited long enough. For months I frequented the SPCA's and all of the shelters and rescues on Vancouver Island, and never found just what I was looking for. I decided to give it a rest for the Christmas season as life is too hectic during that time to be bringing home a dog. In the New Year (2002) I resumed my search, and there she was! A seven month old border collie, surrendered by her family that could not keep up with her typical herding breed needs. I wanted a dog that didn't have a lot of baggage to work on and she would have been perfect.

Now, here is the twist to the story. I absolutely cannot remember what made me look away from the dog that I had been searching months for but that is what I did. I looked to the next kennel. There sat this handsome 2.5 year old German Shepherd boy with a goofy, broken ear. There was nothing particularly endearing about him. He didn't really even care that I was standing there. So, WHY did I decide to take HIM for a walk instead?? On our walk Jake dragged me around to sniff and pee on EVERYTHING. He wasn't horribly mannered, he was just happy to get out. As happy as he was, he could have cared less that I was the one on the other end of the leash. In true GSD fashion, he was aloof. Jake had been called in as a "stray" in someone's backyard. The shelter staff did a search on his tattoo, and traced it back to the people who called

him in as a stray. Huh?!? It turned out that the people that called Jake in as a stray had actually moved from the BC interior to Nanaimo and couldn't keep Jake at the new house, so they had given him to some friends. The friends were physically abusing him and neglecting him. One day Jake jumped the 8 foot fence and ran away back to his "home". The original owner couldn't keep Jake, but didn't want to see him to go back to the abuse. They phoned the city and told them they had a stray, knowing the friends would not pay the fees to get Jake back. So, there he sat with the label of "runner" for months and months. In the end I adopted the most fantastic dog on the planet. Jake and I had a special relationship. Losing him has left a deep wound in my soul. There is nothing that I wouldn't do for this dog. I would have given my right eye and my left kidney for him. He was such a joy; so loyal and intelligent and strong, yet so gentle and soft. He is the reason I became so dedicated to the German Shepherd Dog. Jake was a great obedience dog and taught me so very much about the art of training. After all, he was my first dog. I am truly grateful for the gift that he fave me: himself. In the end, he didn't have the drive to compete successfully in competition, but he gave me everything that I asked of him. Through him I found my calling, my passion and my path in life. I am patiently waiting for the day that that I get to hold my handsome boy once again.